How to make a hanging ornaments table runner | Pretty Handy Girl

I have half of the dynamic duo from At the Picket Fence today and I couldn’t be more thrilled! Heather and Vanessa are the sibling duo who create and blog about their beautiful homes and share scrumptuous recipes! I’m honored to have Vanessa here today to share this brilliant Ballard Designs knock off project.

How to make a hanging ornaments table runner | Pretty Handy Girl

page_break_2

Hi there! I’m Vanessa from the blog At the Picket Fence and I’m so thrilled to be visiting here today! Brittany’s kinda my hero and is helping me find the courage to tackle more DIY projects. Come 2014 my house isn’t gonna know what hit it! At this time of the year more than ever, being frugal is the name of the game and I love to try and come up with creative gift giving ideas for friends and family. Today I’m sharing with you a so simple, no-sew project!

I just love me some Ballard Designs. Don’t you? But, their prices don’t love me back. So, I have to resort to knocking them off. That always sounds so wrong doesn’t it? Kinda has a Bonnie and Clyde ring to it. I’m just going to think of it as imitation being the sincerest form of flattery! This is my version of their hanging ornament table runner from last year and just to prove how very très frugal this really is, here’s the cost difference:

Theirs ~$79.00 …….. Mine ~ $15.00

How to make a hanging ornaments table runner | Pretty Handy Girl

Supplies Needed:

  • Drop cloth cut to size of runner you want (don’t wash the drop cloth first!)
  • Fabric squares or remnants in color/patterns of choice
  • Twine
  • Ribbon in coordinating color
  • Glitter Paint writer in color of your choice

Instructions: Read more

Today I am so excited to have the very talented Sarah joining us with a fabulous très frugal DIY gift idea. Sarah is the creative genius behind Sarah M. Dorsey Designs. I am in love with her design style in her home. The coolest thing about Sarah’s designs is that she achieves them on a super frugal budget. Today she’ll show us how to make marbled picture frames in no time for only a few bucks.

page_break_2

Hi PHG Friends!! This is Sarah from Sarah M. Dorsey Designs. I’m so excited and honored to be here sharing a simple DIY gift idea.

Today may be Black Friday, but instead of buying a gift, think about making a gift. Handmade gifts mean so much more (at least to me 🙂  Plus you’ll save yourself the aggravation of crowded stores. A win win!

I love the variety of marble paper – adding that to a plain picture frame truly makes them one of a kind! Here’s how I did it.

Materials:

  • 1 sheet of marble paper (available at paper source and blick art supply)
  • Mod Podge
  • Frame (recommend straight front and sides) ** Tip: check your local thrift store for frames, I was able to these for about $1 each
  • Brush
  • Cutting supplies: scissors, cutting mat, xacto knife, metal ruler

Instructions: Read more

Canvas Quote Art Tutorial | Pretty Handy Girl

Canvas Quote Art Tutorial | Pretty Handy Girl

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you get your fill of food and family time today. I need to give a big congrats to the Silhouette Portrait Giveaway winner, Kelly Crumpler Kelly! Woo Hoo, you’ll be making all your gifts with the Silhouette Portrait this year, won’t you Kelly?! Speaking of making your own gifts, I’m on a bit of a DIY art kick lately. I think creating your own art is creative, frugal and fun! Today I have a tutorial for creating this laundry quote canvas art, but frankly you can use your own favorite quote! Or create personalized name art for one of the kids on your gift list! The easiest way to create quote artwork is using a Silhouette craft cutter to cut your letters out. You can use the Silhouette for so much more than you ever imagined. I use mine a lot for cutting letters like I did for the laundry sign.

Canvas Quote Art Tutorial | Pretty Handy Girl

But, you can also use it for creating custom temporary tattoos, fabric and cardstock shape cut outs, flocking iron ons, stenciling on wood, glass etching, faux pen & ink etching, 3-D paper projects, printable foil labels and much much more!

silhouette-projects

Today we’ll focus on the tutorial for creating your own quote canvas art! (I’ve included affiliate links for your convenience. I earn a small percentage from a purchase using these links. There is no additional cost to you. You can read more about affiliate links here.)

Materials:

Canvas Quote Art Tutorial | Pretty Handy Girl

Instructions:

Type out your quote in the Silhouette studio software. Send the art to cut on adhesive backed cardstock using your Silhouette.

Canvas Quote Art Tutorial | Pretty Handy Girl

Separate the phrase into sections by scoring around them with an x-acto knife.

Canvas Quote Art Tutorial | Pretty Handy Girl

Flip the cardstock over and remove the backing on just the letters (if you can keep the rest of the backing in tact it will help with positioning.)

Canvas Quote Art Tutorial | Pretty Handy Girl

I had big plans to show you how to make your own DIY canvas art using scrapbook paper as the background. Everything was moving along swimmingly after I adhered the scrapbook paper to the canvas using mod podge. But, I neglected to let it dry (too impatient) and this happened. Whomp wah…craft fail!

Canvas Quote Art Tutorial | Pretty Handy Girl

But, I wasn’t about to be deterred. So, I created a fun painted background instead. Drizzle paint onto the canvas. Use a palette knife to spread the paint. Be careful not to overly mix the paint. Streaks in the paint give it texture, dimension and interest.

Canvas Quote Art Tutorial | Pretty Handy Girl

Let the painting thoroughly dry! (Must have patience.)

Canvas Quote Art Tutorial | Pretty Handy Girl

Carefully lay your words onto the canvas one section at a time.

Canvas Quote Art Tutorial | Pretty Handy Girl

Press the letters in place and gently peel up the backing.

Canvas Quote Art Tutorial | Pretty Handy Girl

Repeat for the rest of your quote.

Canvas Quote Art Tutorial | Pretty Handy Girl

Here’s the FUN part! I used my Silhouette CAMEO to cut out the word “FUN”  in orange card stock and striped scrapbook paper. Then I layered the word FUN to make it stand out. Creating a layered word: 1. Apply a thin coat of mod podge to the back of the orange letters. 2. Lay them slightly offset onto the white letters. Canvas Quote Art Tutorial | Pretty Handy Girl

3. Apply more mod podge on top of the yellow letters. 4. Press the striped letters into the wet mod podge, offsetting them from the orange letters. Seal all the letters by brushing mod podge over the letters.

Canvas Quote Art Tutorial | Pretty Handy Girl

To create a shadow, use the fine tipped permanent marker to underline the right and bottom sections of each letter.

Canvas Quote Art Tutorial | Pretty Handy Girl

And, that’s it! Loads & loads of FUN don’t you think?!

Canvas Quote Art Tutorial | Pretty Handy Girl

I created this artwork to be included in the laundry themed gift basket, but how fun would it be to create personalized art with a child’s name layered like I did with the word “FUN.”

Canvas Quote Art Tutorial | Pretty Handy Girl     PHGFancySign

All the Très Frugal DIY Gift Ideas can be seen here.

Faux Cross Stitch Tea Towel | Pretty Handy Girl

Faux Cross Stitch Tea Towel | Pretty Handy Girl

How about a cheap and easy DIY gift idea today? Faux Cross Stitch Tea Towels are sure to please anyone and they cost less than a dollar! I bought several of the red striped Tekla tea towels at Ikea that cost .79 a piece!

Faux Cross Stitch Tea Towel | Pretty Handy Girl

I came up with the idea after seeing Miss Mustard Seed’s cafe curtains. But, decided to create monogrammed tea towels to give as gifts.

Faux Cross Stitch Tea Towel | Pretty Handy Girl

Materials:

  • Ikea Tekla Tea Towel
  • Red & green acrylic paint
  • Tiny round paint brush
  • Painter’s tape
  • Light box (if you don’t have one, you can tape your letter and towel to a window during the day.)

Instructions: Read more

Pen and Ink Sketch Decorative Dessert Plates | Pretty Handy Girl

Pen and Ink Sketch Decorative Dessert Plates | Pretty Handy Girl

My goodness, November is flying by! Get it…flying…insects. I crack myself up. But seriously, I have been having a blast coming up with new creative gift ideas that you can make. This idea for making pen and ink sketch decorative dessert plates turned out better than I expected! The only downside is that they really are only for decoration. The paint used on the plates can be cured, but the manufacturer states that it technically isn’t food safe.

With that disclaimer out of the way, think about how you could commemorate an event with a personalized plate. Or you could use the same stenciling technique on the outside of a pitcher, mug, glasses or anywhere that the food wouldn’t be in contact with.

 

(I’ve included affiliate links for your convenience. I earn a small percentage from a purchase using these links. There is no additional cost to you. You can read more about affiliate links here.)

Materials:

Pen and Ink Sketch Decorative Dessert Plates | Pretty Handy Girl

Optional: Porcelaine or glass ink pens for writing

 

Instructions: Read more